Lack of TfL Board attention to London Transport Worker Covid-19 Risks in Q1 2020

Keith Prince: A review of the 496 pages of documents prepared for TfL Board Meetings from, respectively, the 22 January and 18 March sessions show that ‘Covid-19’ occurs once in a forty-word paragraph in the 18 March papers. Furthermore, a review of the 29 March “Chair’s Actions” shows that apparently zero attention was paid to protecting transport workers. Since several TfL Bus Drivers had already died from Covid19 by 29 March, how do you account for the dearth of TfL Board attention to Covid-19 Risks for London Transport Workers in Q1 2020?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) takes the safety of its staff and customers very seriously. Health and Safety is a permanent, fixed item raised by the Chair at the start of all TfL Board, Committee and Panel meetings. Since the coronavirus pandemic began in London, TfL’s Board and Executive team has been fully focused on upholding the safety of Londoners and the Board was kept fully informed on the steps that TfL was taking to secure the safety of passengers and staff.
At the start of March, I was given advice by the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Scientific Adviser that based on the current levels of transmission it was safe to use public transport. That was also the advice the Government was taking and informing the public on. It would have been wrong to have not listened to the experts on such an important issue. When the pandemic was declared, TfL moved quickly and in many respects before Government.
With TfL Bus drivers specifically, TfL liaised closely with bus operators and union representatives to keep the bus network operating in as safe a way as possible for drivers.
On the 10 March TfL introduced an enhanced cleaning regime on its network including the use of anti-viral fluid. On 18 March TfL announced plans to reduce services on all its transport modes and it urged the public not to use public transport other than for essential journeys. TfL then emailed 4.6million of its customers, urging them not to travel unless for essential journeys. Between 23 March to 8 April TfL restricted seating near its drivers and asked customers not to sit in seats ahead of the front wheel arch. Signage was also installed across the network and bus seats were covered with sashes, so passengers couldn’t use them. Announcements were put in place on buses for customers to encourage social distancing. In this same period, TfL took additional measures, installing additional protection to drivers’ cabs by sealing up the holes in cab screens. On Wednesday 8 April TfL started trials of middle or back door bus boarding on nine different bus routes. On Monday 20 April mandatory middle/back door boarding was put in place on all operating bus routes as a measure to protect bus drivers, key workers and passengers.

Support for cycle training instructors

Tony Arbour: Is TfL paying for cancelled cycle training due to take place in schools during the summer term? If not, how will TfL be supporting cycle trainers over the summer months?

The Mayor: Cycle training plays an importantrole in encouraging and enabling Londoners to get on a bike, something that is of even greater importance as London carefully re-opens over the coming weeks and months.
Although Transport for London (TfL) has secured a funding settlement from the Department for Transport (DfT) until September to keep its services running and encourage Londoners to walk and cycle rather than taking public transport, the reality is that this money does not currently extend to funding face-to-face cycle training.
TfL has made a case for further funding from the DfT to deliver face-to-face cycle training in London and discussions are ongoing.Until an agreement can be reached I’m afraid TfL is unable to make funds available to deliver new, socially distanced cycle training to London residents.
In the meantime, cycle trainers are encouraged to make full use of any financial support they are entitled to from the various Government schemes.